Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
IVY
We eat and keep up the light banter and teasing until the sun is down, which is when I start to get antsy. His apartment, although pretty bare, is clean and inviting during the day. But at night?
“You want to go back downstairs?” Milton asks after catching me looking at the open door for what I’m sure is the hundredth time.
“Please,” I admit my fear so easily to him.
WHY?
“Give me a minute. Don’t run.” He says it with a smile, but I see the seriousness of the command in his eyes.
I am one hundred percent a flight risk, and we both know it.
“Pinky swear,” I raise my hand with my pinky finger stretched out.
He chuckles as he loops our fingers and shakes before disappearing into his bedroom. I clasp my necklace and hum to keep myself calm. It’s a silly little habit that my therapist encouraged as a healthy coping mechanism.
It reminds me of happier times when my grandmother would sing me nursery rhymes after my parent’s death.
“Twinkle, twinkle, little star?” His voice scares the shit out of me, and I yelp.
“Sorry,” Milton swears a few times under his breath.
“No, I was just lost in thought. Yes, it’s my calming exercise.” I let my pendant drop from my hand, and he zeroes in on it.
“A moon?” He lifts it in his fingers from where it falls between my breasts.
His knuckles grace my left nipple, and I hiss at the contact. He raises an eyebrow at me but doesn’t apologize, and I narrow my eyes at him. He shrugs and goes back to looking at the quarter moon-shaped metal with a tiny dangling star from the tip.
“Yes, my Abuela used to call me Luna.” I smile as I remember her.
“You loved her very much, I can tell. How long has she been gone?” My chest hurts at not knowing.
“Abel said she was found at home alone sometime after passing. I was her only relative. My parents died when I was young. When I went missing…” I choke up and bite my lip, not wanting to think about how lonely she must have been.
“I understand. Let’s get you to your apartment so you can run up the electric bill some more.” I snort at his comment but nod, standing quickly, ready to navigate my familiar environment again.
“Will you tell me about her tonight?” I glance at him and see him for the first time.
Gone is the kilt, and instead, I find him bare-chested, wearing gray fucking sweatpants.
Really? Wait, tonight?
“You’re staying?” It comes out panicked, and I snap my mouth shut immediately.
“Well, for a while at least. Until you’re settled, we need to talk about what happened tonight, and I thought it best to do that in a place you are more comfortable. We crossed a big line today, Hen.” There’s that word again.
“Why do you keep calling me Hen? I feel like a drumstick.” He laughs and kisses my temple.
“I promise it’s a term of endearment.” I roll my eyes.
“Like the English calling each other cows?” Now, he really laughs.
A deep belly laugh that transforms his face, making him even more handsome.
“Aye, under the right circumstances. Come on,” He lifts me into his arms without another word.
“Woo, I can walk!” I yell, but he’s still laughing too hard to bother answering me.
“Ya aren’t wearing shoes, Lass.” He walks right into the hall and starts down the stairs without closing or locking his door.
“Neither are you,” I snark and bit my lip, wondering where I’m getting all bravery lately.
It’s him. He’s good for you.
“Years of running barefoot in the Scottish Highlands made me tough as nails.” He sets me down and unlocks my apartment while I watch silently.
I cross my arms when the door swings open and wait for him to enter first. When he doesn’t move and looks at me I sigh in frustration.
“Why do you have keys!” I blurt the question out, sounding hostile.
“I told you for your safety. I’m the building manager. I have masters of all the locks.” I guess that makes sense, but I don’t like it.
“Abel promised he was the only one who could get in.” He nods at my words.
“That man is a genius, but even he hasn’t mastered teleportation. I’m the next best thing. Now in you go. We’ve avoided this conversation long enough.” He flips the light on and places his hand on the small of my back to gently nudge me inside.
“If it’s the birds and the bees talk, I’ve heard it before.” I slump into my comfy couch and grab my blanket.
When I turn, I find Milton flipping all my lights on.
“Thank you,” I whisper, then smile at his annoyance.
“Bloody waste of power,” he mumbles before coming to sit with me.
He pulls my legs over his lap and then takes the blanket and covers them.
“First, I apologize for not having any self-control. Second, I am one hundred percent clean.” I nod at his words, and he arches a brow at me.
“Oh, yes, sorry. I’m clean, too.” My smile fades as he tilts his head to the side, looking at me curiously.
“Hen, are you on birth control?” Oh, that.
Here I was, thinking he’d know I didn’t need any, but of course, he wouldn’t. At least Abel kept that promise. My medical records must really be locked.
“I have no need for them.” His face doesn’t change, and I feel the need to fill the silence, but my tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth.
“You can’t have children?” His voice is gentle and soft.
Why does that make me want to puke?
“I can have them,” I admit wanting desperately for him to stop pushing.
“Then, why wouldn’t you need birth control?” I see the wheels spinning in his head.
I sit and wait to see the disgust come, but it doesn’t. He closes his eyes slowly, and when they reopen, the words that come out of his mouth shock me.
“How far along?” Tears fill my eyes.
“Fourteen weeks.”